Valley Champs Long Ball Helps Pitching Win League Titles
Pitching wins championships but winners of this year’s Spokane Valley Baseball leagues also played long-ball to secure their trophies.
Andrew Bower’s home run and relief hurling saved Valley Electric’s 3-2 triumph over Broadway Eyecare Center in the Giants League final.
Tom’s Barber Shop parlayed a pair of first-inning doubles into a four-run inning and got 12-strikeout pitching by Russell McCathern during its 12-3 win over Illustrated Air in the Midget League title game.
Doubles by Tim Owen and Matt Hanna and a triple by Grant Bruscoe produced all the runs for unbeaten Medicine Shoppe. Pitchers Bruscoe and Nick Burger two-hit Bert Shields Auto for a 5-2 Pee Wee League win.
Bower power for Valley Electric
Bower’s prodigious home run to right center field in the fifth inning proved just enough to give Valley Electric (14-2) its title.
He had doubled in a run and scored on a sacrifice fly in the first.
Then, with two runners on and two out in the fifth, Bower came on in relief to strike out Broadway Eyecare’s cleanup hitter.
It was the first of four successive strikeouts by the converted catcher.
When Broadway (13-4) threatened to tie the score in the seventh, Bower pitched out of a one-out jam leaving a runner at third base.
“You can’t expect any more,” said coach Jan Shryack. “He’s been an outstanding ball player for me all year.”
Starting pitcher Jay Pearson, who went 8-0 this summer with 116 strikeouts, allowed four hits and fanned nine in 4-2/3 innings.
“My thought was, if we had to play a second game, I felt we’d need a couple innings out of Jay,” said Shryack. “I knew Andrew had the stuff to put out the fire.”
During the year, Paul Shryack hit .653 and scored 23 runs. Leadoff batter Andrew Graczyk hit .592 and scored 25 runs. Bower batted .562 with 27 runs batted in, Pearson hit .470 with 16 RBIs and Matt Spencer hit .407.
Other team members are Matt Lidenberg, Jake Baynes, Scott Krieger, Matt Dagon, Donald Kuehl, Adam Niehenke, Sean Payne, Garrett Trimmer and Motie Curtis.
Valley Electric finished second during the regular season.
“We wanted to win the league, of course,” said Shryack, “but had a strong enough team to go on through the tournament and win.”
Defense was key for Tom’s
Tom’s Barber Shop coach Ryan Heaton won his first championship after years of trying.
“The difference with this team was defense,” he said. “They knew where to throw the ball.”
It was also a case where Heaton’s assistant, Mountain View Middle School teacher Pat Taylor, opposed a team whose players he will coach.
“And he loved it,” said Heaton.
Even though Tom’s made five uncharacteristic errors in the title game, they weren’t challenged.
Doubles by Kyle Taylor and Justin Bright, and a two-run single by Tim Brandle, put the team ahead for good in the first inning.
McCathern struck out all 12 batters and faced just 17 in four innings. He also went 3-for-4.
The team scored twice in the fifth inning when the bottom three hitters in the lineup, Chris Eller, pitcher Tyler Foster and Torrey DeLong all singled.
A five-run sixth inning against Illustrated Air (11-5), two coming on walks and three more on a throwing error, marked the 15th straight win after a season opening loss for the champs. They did it minus one of their better pitchers, Chase Earling.
The team was a combination of players from Chester Elementary and Freeman. Other team members are Ryne Jones, Gavin Heaton, Jared Pence, Brian Ackerman, Ben Schmitt, Brad Schuldt and Joe Hawkins.
“It’s so neat for the kids,” said Heaton. “Some who won’t play or haven’t played much may never again get the opportunity. This was one they earned.”
Power hitters beat power pitchers
Medicine Shoppe’s power hitters beat pitchers who had allowed one run in three previous playoff games.
Of course, the champions’ pitching wasn’t shabby. Bruscoe, from the Trentwood area, and Burger allowed just two hits and struck out 15 in the title game.
“It was pretty much like that all year,” said coach Frank Burger.
The pitchers fanned 126 batters in 60 innings and the team batted .517 for the year.
Dropped third strikes set up Medicine Shoppe’s three-run second inning and two-run fourth after Bert Shields closed to within a run.
It produced the 15th straight win for the team from South Pines, including Adam Sweeney, Ryan Ristau, Josh Morse, Mitchell Cockrell, Brad Burger, Jake Mehrens, another from the Trentwood area, Connor Brooks, Brent Lesser, Russ Wagner and Willy Doering.
“It was a great year,” said Burger. “Everything clicked.”
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